2007-08 Ski Season Progress Report as of January 16, 2008

There was some snow in the Northwest and some of the Rockies in early to mid-October. However, the next month was exceptionally dry, so most western areas were well behind schedule in opening terrain and building a natural snow base. High snowfall areas like Alta, Kirkwood and Steamboat did not open for Thanksgiving, and most western U.S. areas that were open only had snowmaking runs and less than 10% of terrain. Therefore I will attempt wherever possible to exclude October from season totals in the tables below. Whistler was the conspicuous exception, opening 1,200 acres November 16 after a substantial dump, and 5,000 acres for Thanksgiving. Elsewhere in the West skiing remained limited through the first weekend of December despite some unusual storms.

Substantial snow during the first half of December was concentrated in the Southwest and the Northeast. Since mid-December Utah, the Northwest and most of the northern Rockies had multiple storms, completely recovered from the slow start and had above average holiday conditions. The Sierra was the only western region still lagging at New Year's.

The Sierra caught up spectacularly with a huge dump in early January. The first half of January has had nearly continuous snowfall in the Northwest, Northern Rockies, Utah and some parts of Colorado. So after the very slow start to the season most western areas are now well above average.

I am now including season snowfall from some areas italicized from SnoCountry.

California:Mammoth opened a very sketchy snowmaking ribbon Nov. 9 and added a couple more runs at Thanksgiving. A few Tahoe areas also opened for Thanksgiving. Late November was good for snowmaking, but no one in the Sierra was more than 10% open Dec. 1 on natural snow of only 2-8 inches. About 2 feet of snow Dec. 6-7 opened about 20% of terrain at areas like Northstar, Sierra-at-Tahoe and Sugar Bowl. The Sierra had 3+ feet of snow Dec. 18-20, and some areas were 70-90% open on 3-4 foot bases. This all changed with the major storm of 5-9 feet Jan. 3-8. Nearly all terrain is open on 5-10 foot bases, even though the past week has been mostly dry. The Southwest storms allowed Arizona Snowbowl to open most runs Dec. 13. Southern California and Arizona got 2-3 feet of snow in early January, with another 1.5 feet in Arizona last week. See Current California Ski Conditions for more details on Southern California and Mammoth.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Squaw 8,000	180	99%	94%
Kirkwood	202	105%	100%
Mammoth	147	98%	100%
Southern Cal	39	97%	50-100%
Arizona Snowbowl	123	135%	100%

Pacific Northwest: Whistler had 4 feet of snow to open on November 16. It remains an excellent bet for early season skiing in North America this year. Some storms reached Washington and Oregon in late November, but starting with a high rain/snow line. The big early December storm started snow but ended with heavy rain and left Whistler with a hardpack base. Mt. Bachelor's Summit received enough snow to open December 10. Skiing was more restricted in Washington due to lower elevation and more rain in early December. Up to 2 feet of snow resurfaced Whistler and opened most terrain there by Dec. 15. In the second half of December there was 5-9 feet new snow, so all Northwest areas were in good shape for the holidays on 6-10 foot bases. The first half of January has been continuously stormy, dumping 7-9 feet of snow throughout the region.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Whistler	248	127%	100%
Crystal	256	146%	100%
Stevens Pass	264	118%	100%
Mt. Bachelor	276.5	160%	100%

Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.:Snowmaking at Lake Louise opened one trail Nov. 9, but November skiing was very limited. After 2+ feet new snow Sunshine opened some of Goat's Eye Dec. 7. Early snowfall was also above average at Kicking Horse, which opened a week early on Dec. 8. Elsewhere the season started slower. The Okanagan areas had below average snow and Big White was less than half open until after Christmas, now 74%. Red/Fernie received too much rain in early December, but were in great shape by Christmas with 4-6 feet new snow from Northwest storms during the second half of December. The continuing Northwest storm track has dropped 4-5 feet at Red Fernie and an average of 2 feet elsewhere in western Canada.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Lake Louise	76	95%	88%
Sunshine	131	116%	94%
Kicking Horse	156	122%	100%
Fernie	217	116%	100%
Red Mt.	155	116%	100%

U. S. Northern Rockies: Grand Targhee was 75% open by November 30, maintaining its perfect early season track record. Jackson got some of this snow, but locals reported a low mid-December natural snow base below mid-mountain. 5 feet of snow at Jackson later in December opened most terrain for Christmas. Big Sky was 50+% open on its easier lower mountain since Dec 8, increasing to 85% at Christmas. Bridger Bowl got 32 inches in late November, opened most runs on schedule December 7, and had 7 feet over the next month. Schweitzer got 4 feet of snow in early December before it turned to rain. It and Big Mountain got most runs open by Dec. 21 and had 5-6 feet of late December snow from the Northwest storms. These areas have had 4-5 feet of snow in the first half of January, with 6 feet in the Tetons and 2-3 feet at Sun Valley, Big Sky and Bridger.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Big Mountain	202	132%	100%
Bridger Bowl	175	137%	100%
Grand Targhee	237	111%	100%
Jackson Hole	213	119%	100%
Schweitzer	184	146%	100%
Sun Valley	116	130%	89%

Utah: The Cottonwood Canyons had up to 4 feet of snow in mid-October, bringing out substantial numbers of backcountry skiers Oct. 21. But November was the driest since 1976, exceeding that drought year only in the final week. 1+ foot of snow at the start of December and up to 3 feet Dec. 6-8 got Utah's season off the ground. At mid-December only Alta approached full operation. Then the Cottonwood areas got another 3 feet and most runs there were open by Dec. 21. Additional storms finally opened most runs at Snowbasin and the Park City areas by Christmas. Total December snowfall of 8 feet at Park City and 12 feet in the Cottonwood Canyons made the November drought a distant memory. The bounty has continued in January with 6-7 feet of snow so far.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Alta	255	114%	100%
Snowbird	211	110%	100%
Brighton/Solitude	212	121%	100%
Park City group	159	127%	99%
Snowbasin	188	135%	100%
Brian Head	131	100%	100%

Northern and Central Colorado: Loveland received 22 inches snow in October and had 105 acres open by Nov. 4. November snowfall was less than half normal throughout the region and record low along the Continental Divide. But 4-5 feet of denser than normal snow fell during the first half of December. Therefore, normal percentages of terrain were open for the holidays even though many snow totals were still below average. Steamboat's snow was lagging past mid-December, but not after 6 feet new during the holidays. By year end snow totals were noticeably below average only at the Continental Divide, where A-Basin was less than half open until this week, now 78%. 1-2 feet of snow fell in early January. The strong Northwest storm track dumped 5 feet at Steamboat, 3+ at Vail, Beaver Creek and Winter Park and average 1.5 feet elsewhere last week.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Beaver Creek	171	118%	100%
Breckenridge	128	106%	95%
Copper Mt.	122	109%	96%
Keystone	102	125%	99%
Loveland	114	84%	85%
Steamboat	223	127%	100%
Vail	178	113%	100%
Winter Park	148	94%	94%

Southern and Western Colorado: The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, located at Gothic 9,400 feet between Crested Butte and Aspen, had 34 inches of October snow, but a 30+ year record low of 14 inches in November. Telluride did not open for Thanksgiving, and even Wolf Creek was less than 10% open. But this region had an outstanding first half of December, with 5-6 feet of high density snow at most areas, and 13 feet at Wolf Creek. Much more terrain is open than normal for the holidays on 4-5 foot bases, and even most of Crested Butte's North Face is open, rare by Christmas. Taos opened Dec. 14 with far more than average base depths and open runs and was 90+% open by Christmas. Second half December snow ranged from 3+ feet at Aspen, which roughly tied 1983 for its snowiest December, to 2 feet in southern Colorado. Nearly all western Colorado areas have had 4-5 feet so far in January and should be in great shape for the rest of the season with historically excellent snow preservation.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Aspen	182	191%	99%
Crested Butte	154	160%	94%
Gothic	175.5	130%	N/A
Durango	178	173%	99%
Telluride	178	179%	100%
Wolf Creek	286	197%	100%
Taos	141	126%	100%

Northeast: Sunday River made enough snow for a "marketing opening" on Halloween. A few areas opened for the weekend of Nov. 10-11, and many more for the next weekend, assisted by over a foot of new snow at many areas. For Thanksgiving trail counts increased from the 10% to 20% range, though surfaces were less than ideal due to midweek rain. November had overall average conditions by historical standards though much better than the past few years. Upper New England and Quebec had 5-8 feet of snow the first 3 weeks of December with outstanding conditions. Unfortunately surfaces were degraded by rain just before Christmas, though with the ample base depths there was only a moderate drop in open trails. 2 feet of snow over the holiday period restored excellent conditions for New Year's week. The second week of January brought a major thaw with some rain, so trail counts dropped at many areas. Conditipons have improved slightly the past couple of days with a few inches new snow and cooler temps. Percents open: Okemo 80%, Stratton 82%, Hunter 79%, Sunday River 77%, Tremblant 56%, St. Anne 97%. I strongly recommend checking First Tracks Online Ski Magazine No-Bull Ski Reports for up to date information in this region, where both weather and surface conditions can change so rapidly.

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